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As students of all ages go back to school, we need to address a very important issue. This issue is one I brought up this past March; bias and bullying in the classroom. In the course of the past few weeks, we have seen this issue reemerging in the national media. Teachers on both ends of the political spectrum are guilty of bias, and sometimes bullying, and it needs to end.

The ultimate goal of Common Core is to have every school district follow the same national standards. This is a failed educational approach that will undermine educational quality and choice. States and local communities better know how to design standards based on their students and parents’ needs than Washington bureaucrats.

Our K-12 education system is a monopoly, and like any other monopoly, the customer (child) suffers from lack of choice and competition. Our children are being held captive in a failing system where markets are not allowed to work. As it turns out, parents, especially moms, know that the key to improving our education system is to allow for market forces to drive innovation and create an enviroment that responds to the needs of children, instead of just propping up the status quo.

School choice received a blow in Louisiana today when the Supreme Court deemed funding for vouchers unconstitutional. Last April, Governor Bobby Jindal expanded school choice, including scholarships offered for up to 5,600 students for the current school year. More than 10,000 students applied for 5,600 spots in private and religious schools this year, and were selected by a lottery. The program was set to be expanded next year with nearly 8,000 students approved for vouchers with more scholarships expected to be approved in June.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith attended traditional public schools, but chose a different path when it came time to choose how to school their own children. The Smiths have a son and a daughter, both of whom were educated both through homeschooling and in private schools. Their daughter, however, decided she wanted something different for high school.

Florida Governor Rick Scott has signed a new educational reform bill into law which some are calling “an education revolution.” This bill is aimed at revamping high school education in the state of Florida that will lead to more students being able to get a job upon graduation.

Meet the Thompsons, a homeschooling family from Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson both attended traditional public schools, but decided they wanted something different for their own four children. So, how did this family decide that homeschooling was best for them, and what happened next?

Quietly and almost without notice, an initiative which significantly erodes local and state control of school curriculum has passed in 46 states. The Common Core Standards Initiative sets Math and English curriculum in every participating state at the same level. In adopting this “common core” states are relinquishing their right to compose their own education requirements.